


Our Brash Ballad (Monsters of Verity Au)

by yayiyuri



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Actually wrote this because I’m mad at the book, And their adoptive father is Namjoon, Anything you don't understand will be explained in later chapters, But wants to be human, How Do I Tag, I made up a few names ok, I threw in Hwarang Hyungs, I wanted to ship namjin here but I decided nah, I’m sorry but I don't know what to do with Jhope, Jeon Jungkook as Leo Flynn, Jeon Jungkook is Older Than Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Namjoon | RM as Henry Flynn, Kim Taehyung | V as August Flynn, Kim Taehyung | V-centric, M/M, Maknae Line are siblings, Min Yoongi | Suga Is a Little Shit, Min Yoongi | Suga as Kate Harker, Min Yoongi | Suga is Bad at Feelings, Monster!Taehyung, Monsters Of Verity!Au, My First Fanfic, Park Jimin (BTS) as Ilsa Flynn, Park Seo-Joon is here too, Ratings may change, Romance is gonna be in later chapters, Taehyung is a monster, Tags May Change, Warnings May Change, jungkook is kinda mean, well kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21793996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yayiyuri/pseuds/yayiyuri
Summary: There is no such thing as safe.In a world where violence breeds actual living, breathing, horrible monsters;Min Yoongi and Kim Taehyung stand as heirs to a divided city. All Yoongi wants is to prove he is as ruthless as his father, who lets these monsters roam and forces the citizens to pay for his protection.Meanwhile, all Kim Taehyung wants is to be human. To be as good-hearted as his father who has a bigger role in protecting the innocent - but unlike his father, he is one of the monsters too. One that can steal one’s soul with a simple strain of music.When Taehyung is sent by his father to keep an eye on Yoongi who’s just been expelled from his sixth boarding school and had to return to his hometown, he jumps at it.But something is not right, and it rests uneasily on both of them.A.k.a: city is split in half and governed by two other people, their heirs are Yoongi and Taehyung. Yoongi is an estranged son who wants to prove himself, Taehyung is a monster who doesn't want to be one.Written by me, @yurisscripts on twtOriginal idea by V. E. Schwab
Relationships: Kim Taehyung | V/Min Yoongi | Suga
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47





	1. Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's meant to be confusing I’m sorry

First, there were gunshots. Then there were screams. 

Next came the bodies, the panic, the running. A crazed laughed snuffed by the sound of one final punctuating bang.

Then came the aftermath, the result of it all. From all the death, the gunpowder, the beautiful red spilt on the tiles of the school cafeteria, and the coppery smell of blood... When it all ended with a bang, not a whimper... He rose. 

A Sunai.

Sunai, sunai,  
Eyes like coal,  
Sing you a song,  
And steal your soul.

——————————————————

“Where are we going?” He asked as he felt his body being dragged into the car, the sensation of his mother’s hands on his arms urging his tired eyes open.

“Home, Yoonie. We’re going home.” She breathed, her voice coated with a hint of madness; of something wrong. 

He was confused, weren’t they already home? Where were they going at this hour?

Then the car began to move out of the lot, but something was wrong.

“Where are we going?” He repeated, his eyes straining to see the road ahead. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the car was moving too fast; or worse, they were on the wrong side of the road.

“Enough of that Yoonie.” She mumbled softly.

He looked at her in pure confusion, and uttered, “Where are you, mom?” 

“Home.”

Lights filled the car, then everything went black.


	2. Taehyung

Taehyung’s hands skimmed the surface of his violin case, fingertips itching to unfold it and brandish the deadly instrument within.

 _I can't_ , he tells himself. _Sunai don’t play for any other reason but to kill, to feed, to momentarily cleanse the world,_ he adds. He chooses to pull his hands away from it, away from the eerily beautiful case sitting atop his desk in his predicament of a room.

It's not that messy, just piles and piles of books stacked atop one another. Which sounds odd, since monsters aren't expected to be enthralled by knowledge, let alone read. The problem was that he wasn't just intrigued by knowledge, something else captivates him: humans. Or, more accurately: how to become one.

He decides to leave the confines of his room. The cold surface of his door greeting his even colder fingertips as he leaves the room to stride over to the Kim’s living room with a book tucked between his arm and body. He glances around the space out of habit before deciding to take a seat on one of the stools facing the kitchen counter. 

Just as he was about to pull out the book that was previously tucked between his arm, the gunshots came back.

His hands come up to his ears and he imagines the noise in his skull stopping, due to the fact that he knows the action won't stop it. He presses them closer to his ears until he decides to pull out the music player from his pocket, shoving the buds in his ears as the metal doors of the penthouse slid open.

“Taehyung? What are you doing up so early?” Namjoon says as he steps out of the elevator with Jin close behind as they walk into their living quarters. Calling it their living quarters sounds like an understatement, they lived in a penthouse on the KTF compound. Although by all means, it isn't as fanciful as it sounds. The windows were usually covered by curtains and the only light that ever enters the penthouse is artificial, leaving only the image of a surprisingly cosy home that might be housing vampires. They’re definitely housing a monster or three, but not vampires.

Despite having his earphones shoved into his ears, he could still hear Namjoon’s question no problem. In fact, he could still hear everything going on in the 19 floors below him, from the layered voices to the rhythm of boots, to the metallic snap of a gun being loaded. It was what made the music of the Kim Compound. 

“I was waiting for you,” Taehyung said, putting the music player back into his pocket. Namjoon dropped his bag next to the kitchen counter and walked until he was in front of Taehyung. “Why?” Namjoon asked, tilting his head as he picked up the book that had fallen to the ground.

As Namjoon got back up, Taehyung regarded his father’s face. Kim Namjoon had kind eyes but a sad mouth, or sad eyes and a kind mouth. He wasn’t sure, he could never keep them straight. Faces had so many features and humans seem to be able to contort them into a seemingly infinite amount of expressions like happiness or anger or disgust. Yet, with Namjoon, the tired eyes we're a constant. He was the founder of the KTF, which stood for Kim Task Force. Once upon a time, before the Phenomenon, before the war and before the truce, he was a successful surgeon with a wife and a small family. Now, as he stands with tired eyes and a grim expression, the Namjoon with an easy dimpled smile in the photos looked like someone from another earth. 

“Please let me join the task force.” Taehyung let out. Namjoon sighed at the words, rubbing his tired eyes before glaring at his son again. ”Taehyung, we’re not gonna talk about this.”

The doors slid open once more to reveal Kim Seokjin, a box of supplies in his hands. He took a look at Namjoon and Taehyung, raised an eyebrow. “Talking about that are you?” He said as he placed the box of supplies on the kitchen counter. “You know the task force is off the table, Taehyung-ie.” He added.

”But if you just-” Taehyung started. “ _No,_ Taehyung. And that’s it.” Namjoon asserted. ”I’m surrounded by the KTF all the time!” Taehyung protested. ”Whenever I go anywhere in North City, I even have to dress like them! Is it such a step for me to be them?”

Namjoon looked him straight in the eye and said, ”Yes.” ”It isn’t safe.” added Jin as he started to take out a few morsels of food

Namjoon winced at that because it was true. Everyone who lived in South city knew the deal: if you live here, you join the task force and have to fight for your safety. ”It’s not exactly fair you know, Jungkook’s a Sunai too but you let him fight and get his face plastered as the face of the KTF!” Taehyung adds, walking up to where Jin had stopped cutting vegetables. Namjoon tried to cut in, ”Taehyung-” ”Don’t you dare tell me he’s different.” Taehyung spat, he was about to continue when Jin said: ”How are you going to help if you don't want to fight?” 

Taehyung paused. Yes, he didn't want to fight, but what he did want to do was to protect. However, if protecting meant fighting... He wouldn't hesitate.

Taehyung glanced at Namjoon before fixing his gaze back on Jin. ”Let me ask you something different. Am I your weakness, or your strength?” He asked, both of his fathers seeming troubled by the question.

”Both, ” they said in a hushed tone. Taehyung wasn't sure what to expect, just not that. He felt Jin’s hands cup his face, much like when he was a child.

Child was the wrong word. But there was no right word for it. About four years ago he emerged from a crime scene in the form of a twelve-year-old. Someone called the authorities and the next thing he knew he was being adopted by Namjoon as his own son. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Jin stared into Taehyung’s eyes and said softly. “Taehyung, you have to understand that your father and I are very, very reluctant to let you go out there. Well, we do sometimes but that’s only-“ “So I can eat.” Taehyung continued as he pulled Jin’s hands away and grabbed the knife he had put down earlier. 

Namjoon’s eyes widened as Taehyung raised the knife above his other hand. Taehyung started, “You both are scared of me going out there, but tell me why-“ he brought the knife down on his hand in a swift motion. He heard Namjoon gasp and Jin wince, but the knife simply glanced off his skin like it was stone. “- You pretend I’m made of glass,” He put the knife back onto the cutting board and looked Jin straight in the eye. “When you know I’m not.” 

Jin simply replied with, “We know, but you aren’t invincible.” 

Somehow that felt like the last straw for Taehyung. So out of a fit of anger that shouldn’t have been there, he turned on his heel and walked back to his room. To his surprise, Jungkook was sitting on his KTF uniform’s sleeves rolled up to reveal the black crosses on his arm. “You look upset, little brother.” Jungkook teased, an evil smile on his face. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear what Namjoon and Jin said.” Taehyung replied, closing the door with a thud. “You know, little brother, you’re right.” Jungkook sighed, “About what?” “About how it isn’t fair. We both know Sunai are the embodiment of penance, that we are essentially holy fire that will burn all sinners in this world. Our parents might as well be snuffing you out.” 

Taehyung rolled his eyes, sometimes his brother said the right things, if only he didn’t have that righteousness in his voice. “Anyways, may I know why you’re in my room?” He asked as he leaned against the door and crossed his arms. Jungkook chuckled, “What’s so wrong about me wanting to check on my little brother?” “The fact that your little brother has been outside this whole time? How did you get in here anyway?” The question earned another chuckle from Jungkook who replied ”There are always other ways to get in you know.” he began to get up from Taehyung’s bed, picking up his guitar as he effortlessly strolled across the room and between the stacks of books to his brother. ”Don’t be surprised if Henry calls you in for something, apparently we have a situation coming up.” Jungkook said before ruffling his brother’s hair as Taehyung moved away from the door to let Jungkook leave. 

Once the door was shut once again and Jungkook was gone, he heard the ring of Namjoon’s cell phone in the living room. Then he heard him pick up the call, heard his voice go from composed to confusion to worry. He didn't really think much of it until he heard Namjoon say, ”Jungkook, get your brother. We need him in the next council meeting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehhhhh- some stuff could be added here... Anyways what do you think? Please please please give me any criticism that is useful. Or maybe give me a dm at my TwT: @yurisscripts


	3. Yoongi

Yoongi leaned against the back seat of the police car, a smug smile plastered on his face as the vehicle approached the wastes. 

How did he get here, he asked himself. How is it that there are thousands of Yoongi’s in different places, different times. Yet, this was who he ended up to be. No more was the boy who laid in a field, who was stupid and cowardly. The boy who cried before-

The silence of the car was making him lose his train of thought. He needed to remember how to explain this to his father, that he had once again been kicked out by a boarding school. At least the school tried since they kept forgiving Yoongi for the multitude of problems he had created. Namely, verbally harassing a few professors, smoking in the dorms, breaking someone’s nose. 

It’s no wonder it took Yoongi burning an old science lab to get him expelled.

About two months ago, when he got first got on campus Yoongi had already seen the science lab as a last resort, which was why he did all those other things first. 

Which was also why he was able to formulate the perfect plan. First, slip the lab key from the warden’s office. Then, silently follow Professor Park when he confiscated Yoongi’s lighter. Not only did he uncover where his lighter was being kept, but he also found a lot of alcohol; both confiscated and brought by the wardens.

So he had everything he needed, he’d even figured out at what time did the night guards patrol to what area of the campus along with the time the wardens went to sleep.

So about an hour ago, he climbed out his door window with a duffel bag during the witching hour and grabbed all the alcohol along with his lighter, then made his way to the lab to set it on fire.

Some might wonder why he didn't just burn the other old lab. Well, it was because that was where Professor Lee slept, and he didn't want to at murder to arson. Not when the price of violence was so steep. 

His thoughts stopped falling like dominoes when the vehicle slid to halt. He scooted to the other side of the window, a bit of panic washing over him at the thought that a monster might have caused the car to stop; but it was less merciful than that. There was a black car making its way towards them, though you would have been temporarily blinded by it as the car had a little more than the usual headlights. It had UVRs installed onto the bottom of it and had a few surrounding the roof of the car. He didn’t even have to look at the M on the side of the car to know that was one of his father’s men.

”Alright, time to get you out.” the policeman said after all this time. He got out of the car and walked to the car door than Yoongi was looking out of. After opening it, Yoongi tried not to show the bit of fear that made him want to tremble. No, no he couldn't show fear now. Not when he got what he wanted. So he mustered a small smile, one of victory rather than happiness as the policeman grabbed his arm and began escorting him to the black car.

The engine of the lightened vehicle almost seemed like it rumbled out of anger when they finally got close to it. He felt the policeman’s hands let go of his arm. But just as he was about to return to his vehicle Yoongi called out, ”Yah, you’re forgetting something!”. The policeman turned to him, ”No, I didn't.” ”You sure about that?” Yoongi replied as he held out his still cuffed hands. The policeman snickered, ”’ Was hoping you wouldn’t notice.” He took off Yoongi’s cuffs but Yoongi still had his hands outstretched. ”You took something.” he said plainly. The policeman rolled his eyes, before digging his hand in one of his pockets and fishing out Yoongi’s silver lighter. 

Yoongi kept the smug smile as he felt the cold surface of the lighter in his palm. ”Thank you.” was all he said before opening the car door. He paused a moment just to hear the policeman utter ”Asshole, ” and other colourful words at him which only made him chuckle before entering the car. 

After the police car turned around and went back to its respective city, the car too made its turn. Its turn to the Wastes. But as Yoongi leaned against the car seat, he figured there was nothing to worry about. The UHVs were bright enough to discourse the Corsai hiding in the shadows, and Yoongi knows that every car owned by his father was armoured enough that at the very least a Malchai’s claws wouldn’t be able to make even a dent on the car’s body. 

The sound of a cell phone’s ringtone going off pierced the silence, and his driver-a new one, Yoongi noticed- picked up the phone. He turned his head to the left slightly so that he could try to make out what the guy was saying in his gruff voice. He was able to catch a ”Yes sir, I have him sir.” along with a ”No injuries whatsoever.” and finally a ”You want to talk to him? Yes, sir.” 

The driver turned to him, with a blank look in his eye as he passed the phone ”He wants to talk to you.”

Yoongi swallowed, he knew this would happen. He’d had it all planned out. Though evidently, it seems that it didn't mean he couldn’t still be scared. He took the phone and held it against his good ear. 

”Min Yoongi.”

”Father.” Yoongi replied, in a tone that he had hoped sounded not loud, but forceful. ”You must be proud of yourself for doing this, aren’t you?” he asked in a mocking manner.

Yoongi threw his head back on the car seat, ”Actually, yeah. I am.” ”Milton High makes six, you know. Six boarding schools and you’ve somehow been able to get expelled from all of them.” ”Hm?” Yoongi murmured, feigning distraction as he looked out the window. ”Six schools in five years, Yoongi.”

Yoongi smiled, ”Well Mr Park always said I could do anything if I put my mind to it- or was that one of the teachers from the Wilderness school? Must be losing track.” 

”Enough of this nonsense Yoongi.” somehow that sentence felt like a punch to the gut, the way it made him feel like the wind got kicked out of him. ”You can’t keep doing this.” he declared. ”I know, ” he replied, he was trying to be the right Yoongi. The one that deserved to be around him, the one that deserved to be called his son, to be deemed a Min. To be the Yoongi that wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything, not even his own father. 

Right now he couldn’t manage a smug smile but he imagined it, held the image in his mind as he repeated, ”I know, and I imagine that these kind of stunts are getting hard to cover up. Expensive, even.” ”Then why, Yoongi.” ”I think we’ve both established you know why.” he uttered. ”You know what I want, dad.” 

An exhale escaped his father’s lips, and Yoongi’s eyes darted upwards. He realized that the car’s sky roof was open and he could see the hundreds of stars dotting the heavy night sky.

”I want to come home.”


	4. Treble With Hunger

Taehyung stared at his reflection in the mirror, imitating human expressions as he buttoned up his shirt. 

”Aw, look who’s a handsome boy~” a voice cooed from behind him. Taehyung turned his head to look at Jimin and snickered. ”Who cares how I look, these clothes are really tight.” he said as he pulled on the collar slightly. 

Jimin gave a laugh of his own as he made his way to Taehyung, stepping over the piles of books with ease. ”Well, it’s meant to be tight. It looks neat,” Jimin replied. Taehyung rolled his eyes and went back to the mirror, which only made his dark hair fall into his light grey eyes. With a tsk he moved the hair out of his face but decided maybe it was better to slightly hide his eyes. Jimin, however, seemed to make a confused face and moved to push the hair away. ”Leave it like that, it’s not like you haven't worked all this time to imitate them. This is your chance, you know? To put all those hours in front of the mirror to good use. To prove Jungkook wrong.” The last sentence was uttered softly, soft enough for only him to hear and not the mentioned Sunai who was somewhere in the building. 

Taehyung thought about it, and it made him smile a little at the thought of proving to his older brother that he wasn't wasting the hours he put into imitating expressions. ”Jimin, mind if I practise some lines with you?” Taehyung asked. He had been practising for the last few minutes, but he wanted to make sure he could say it since monsters didn't have the ability to lie. However, August had always found a way to get past that. All he had to do was tell himself that it was true until his mind believed it.

Jimin nodded and he took a few steps back, to check Taehyung’s posture; he assumed. Taehyung cleared his throat and gave an easy smile as he started: ”My name is Hwang Taeyeon, and I’m 17 years old. I live in the Red zone and It’s nice to meet you,” His name wasn’t Hwang Taeyeon, nor was it Kim Taehyung. He doesn’t have a name, just borrowed ones. He wasn’t seventeen but he looked like one. Meeting someone was supposed to be nice. “-and I know this seems obvious but I’m not a-“ monster. His throat locked up and the words got stuck. No matter how much he tried, how much he told himself, it was true. Of course, it was, he knew that. But he always tried.

Jimin’s blue eyes suddenly turned to the colour of midnight as he said, “Hey, it’s ok. That’s good enough. You already look convincing so you don’t have to convince them you aren’t a monster.” He gripped Taehyung’s shoulders and suddenly started shaking his head. It was a slow, normal thing. Until it wasn’t when Jimin doing it too much and began to look towards the floor. 

“Jimin? Hey... hey are you still with me?” He cooed, moving a hand behind his older brother’s head to play with the strawberry colour led strands there. Jimin was sometimes like this: lost for hours or days or weeks then suddenly back for maybe an hour or two. If anything, it was a miracle that Jimin was here, was standing with him before his first “mission”. 

Jimin finally stopped and when Taehyung used a finger to tip his brother’s head, his eyes had returned to his usual sky blue colour. For a moment he wondered what made all of them differently. What caused Jungkook‘s dirty blond hair and flat dark eyes, Jimin with his strawberry curls and blue eyes, and why his own hair was the colour of gunpowder and his eyes the colour of smoke. Maybe it was their Catalysts?

“Yeah, sorry I just- Just stay safe ok Tae-Tae?” He kissed Taehyung on the cheek before leaving the room looking like he was caving in on himself. Taehyung frowned, and he felt his shoulders slump slightly; an imitation of someone’s worry- or maybe someone’s mood being slightly ruined.

After fixing his tie and making sure he looked... normal- he made his way to the living room and wasn’t surprised to see Namjoon on the couch nursing a cup of coffee. He saw Taehyung and gave a small, tired smile. “Hey, Tae. Just wanted to see you off,” he said with a yawn. The bags under his eyes looked more prominent than before, he would have been worried if it wasn’t for the fact that Kim Namjoon’s motto was: “The hunters hunt at night, and so will we.” 

Taehyung only muttered a “Thank you” to his father before turning around to grab the paper lunch bag on the kitchen counter. As he opened the bag to see it’s contents, there was a piece of paper that read: “Here’s your lunch. Have a good day! (P.s, I took a little nibble.)” and true enough, there was a half-eaten sandwich and one-third of a candy bar, but one uneaten apple on the bottom of the bag. Taehyung smiles to himself, it was mercy more than anything. If anyone asked, he could have just said he’d have eaten. 

He took a look at his watch, which made his sleeve jump up and show the lowest of his tally marks. He’d have to hope that the school’s blazer would cover up the sleeves of his shirt, or else he’d have to look at his watch less often- or when no one is looking. He picked up said blazer that was hooked on a chair and made his way to the elevator. 

But just as Taehyung was about to press the button which would open the metal doors, the doors opened revealing Jungkook in KTF fatigues. His brother smiled at him, “Oh, I almost thought I’d miss your first day.” Taehyung scowled a bit, remembering how Jungkook was silently mocking him during yesterday’s council meeting. 

“Remember what you’re there for brother- don’t get too involved.” The smile immediately disappeared and the voice turned cold, serious. Taehyung shivered slightly as Jungkook past him and into the penthouse. As Taehyung stepped into the elevator, he felt something being yanked from his right hand and he stared at his older brother as he held Taehyung’s violin case. 

He didn’t realize he was holding it until now, on account of the fact that a Sunai’s weapon felt like part of them. In fact, he found his right-hand curling as if he was still holding it. Taehyung pushed the elevator doors open as they began to close, ”Hyung, give me my violin.” he said. Taehyung glanced at the couch behind Jungkook and cursed under his breath at the realisation that Namjoon had dozed off. 

Jungkook’s cold smile returned as he replied, ”Why? Surely you won't be needing it.” he teased. Taehyung scowled which only made Jungkook ask more questions, ”Tae, have you eaten?” ”No.” Jungkook cocked his head, ”Then are you hungry?” 

Taehyung let go of the elevator doors before saying, “I’m always hungry.”


	5. Monster See, Monster Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned, after this chapter, it’s gonna get real Taehyung-centric. (actually it already is gonna get Taehyung-centric here, but I’ll try to get some Yoongi POVs in)

Yoongi’s eyes scanned the after images of V-city as the limousine made its way through the streets. The sound of classical music blaring from the radio made him want to run a knife through his left ear.

It’s not that he didn't like it, it's just that he didn't find satisfaction in it. 

_But for now, he’ll just have to deal with it,_ he thought to himself. _As long as it isn't silent,_ he added. He leaned against the glass window and began to stare at his reflection, but as he gazed at his blond hair and brown eyes he was reminded of the scars that rest on his face: the one that looked like a drying tear in the corner of his right eye along with the pale line running from his temple to his jaw. 

He shivered a bit at the memory of what caused them, but then reminded himself that was exactly why he had to prove himself: to show to his father that he wasn’t that boy anymore, that he wasn’t weak. 

Yoongi shook his head, he was slipping again. He turned towards his driver and asked, “Yah- Hyunki, mind changing the radio channel?” In response, the driver switched off the radio. “Is that better?” The driver asked Yoongi didn’t even need to look at the rear-view mirror to know the driver was smiling. “Yeah, much better.”

In truth, it was worse. He hated silence. So, he simply pulled out his phone along with his earphones and stuffed one of the earbuds into his left ear. 

Immediately, loud music filled his ear. Suddenly it was as if the leather and metal surrounding him melted away, leaving only him and the sound of the music in his world. A world where rebellion felt real, one where there was nothing but the truth- whatever people thought truth was- all while a heavy beat drowned out his thoughts.

After a few minutes, he didn't realise his eyes were closed until he felt the car stop. Instantly, he took out his earphones and looked out the window. He smiled at the sight of Wolfsbane Academy in front of him. 

..........................

Taehyung sat quietly in the subway car, wishing he’d have opted for walking t the green zone instead. 

He’d never been on a train before, but Henry told him what a train was and what it did and what it could do. However, that didn’t matter much to him anymore as the train moved and the train car packed with people started acting a little manic. 

Yes, this was all his unintentional doing. Sunai had an air around them that often made people spill out truths, sometimes a truth that reveals them as a sinner. But that didn’t matter since Taehyung didn’t sense a Shadow in the train car. 

A Shadow is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a shadow- but unlike a shadow, it’s shape is different than the person casting it, and it usually moves differently than the person casting it too. Which is why in truth, Taehyung didn’t sense one, but he saw one.

Taehyung tried his best to not stare at the middle-aged man in a suit sitting across from him, tried not to stare at the menacing shape that almost felt like it was teasing him. But really it just made him glad Jungkook took his violin. So instead he closed his eyes and tried to drown himself in the jumbled voices of everyone’s confessions.

Taehyung walked up to the dark open gates of Wolfsbane, making sure he was able to say the lines he’d practised with Jimin earlier that morning. As he took his first few steps into the school, he anxiously looked around to see what school felt like, if it was as horrible as Jungkook had made it seem. However, as he picked between conversations and listened to discussions, all he found was... Laughter,  
Joy,  
Happiness,  
And...  
Love? 

As he kept walking, someone was beginning to walk his way so Taehyung moved a little to the left. However, it seems although the guy saw that he still kept moving in Taehyung’s direction. So when they were about to pass one another, the male seemed to move his shoulder so that their bodies collided. 

A well-fed Sunai are meant to be indestructible, unfortunately, Taehyung was the opposite of that and ended up falling to the ground with a _thump._ Luckily Taehyung was able to avoid falling flat on his face and ended up falling on one elbow and a palm. He looked behind him and saw the student smiling at him with what he read as cruelty.

”Watch where you’re going, new guy.” he said, the smile on his face never faltering. Taehyung got up from the ground and dusted off his blazer a little. He feigned confusion and said. ”But aren’t you the one that ran into me?” it was the truth, Taehyung already moved so that he could pass. It was him that caused that collision. Besides, Taehyung was the one that fell. 

Yet, somehow that irked the guy a little. He grabbed Taehyung by the collar and dragged him till they were face to face, ”Hey, who said you could be a smart-ass huh?” then suddenly his face of anger softened, and his grip turned loose. ”I- I see them every night, t-they’re always there when I sleep- I- I can’t take it anymore.” He suddenly whimpered.

“Woah, woah- Woohyun. Let the new guy go huh?” A hand suddenly gripped the aforementioned male’s shoulder which made both Taehyung and him turn to look, there was a pretty tall guy with a sparkling wide gaze and a decently wide face shape. And if he looked close enough he could maybe see a pair of dimples adorning his face. 

The guy, Woohyun, who was still holding onto his collar made a small laugh. ”Sure, Seo Joon. You’re lucky you live in the most protected part of the city.” He then promptly released- more like push- Taehyung and shook Seo Joon’s hand from his shoulder before walking away. 

The student who saved him, Seo Joon, stood in front of him and smiled. ”Hey you alright there? You’re the new kid, aren't you? Why’d he grab you? Did you say something?” Taehyung blinked at the number of questions the boy in front of him was asking. It didn't feel right to call him a boy, he looked like a whole grown man. 

Taehyung stumbled with his words, ”I uhm- he bumped into me and told me to watch where I was going. When in truth, I did. He was the one that needed to look where he was walking. ” Taehyung said, still feigning confusion. Somehow, that made Seo Joon’s eyes widen. ”YOU RETORTED AT WOOHYUN? NO WONDER HE GRABBED YOU!” Seo Joon shouted, not too loudly, Taehyung noted. 

Seo Joon seemed to deflate like a balloon for a moment, then seemed to inflate again as he held out his hand with a smile and asked, ”By the way, my name’s Park Seo Joon, what’s yours?” Taehyung looked down at Seo Joon’s outstretched hand then remembered that this was how people greeted one another. He held out a hand of his own and shook Seo Joon’s hand while replying with, ”Taeyeon, Hwang Taeyeon.”

Seo Joon gave a small laugh then let go of Taehyung’s hand. ”Well Taeyeon, let me help you get registered huh?” Taehyung didn't even get to answer before Seo Joon looped an arm around his own and dragged him into the school.

Taehyung knocked on the door of the registration office, then waited till a voice inside said: ”Come in.” 

He promptly opened the door and slowly shut it as he entered the office. 

The room was lined with shelves on the left and right walls with a desk that had a chair facing towards it. The shelves seemed to be lined with files of every student and there was a middle-aged lady sitting at the desk while she tapped a beat with her pen. It wasn't steady so clearly, she was doing it out of boredom. 

The lady smiled at Taehyung, ”Ah, you must be a new kid. What’s your name, honey?” Taehyung wasn’t sure if this was the right time to feign confusion, but then he remembered the concept of nicknames. He cleared his throat before answering, ”Hwang Taeyeon.” he started to walk towards the lady as she started opening and closing a few files as she kept muttering Taehyung’s- Taeyeon’s name. 

She opened one file, ”Ah, there you go. Hwang Taeyeon. Third year right? Here you go: all you have to do is take this file and go to the office down the hall before the library. There’s gonna be a lady there who’ll need your information so all you have to do is give her the paper on the top of the file, ok?” she said as she turned the file around so that Taehyung could see what was inside: it all just seemed like the perfect fake ID. 

”By the way, Taeyeon, honey. With your kind eyes and cute curly hair, I’m sure everyone’s just gonna eat you up.” she said in a weird way while scrunching her nose. He really hoped she was joking and didn’t mean that humans suddenly eat humans now. But he smiled anyway and gave a small ”thank you” before taking the file in his right hand and leaving the room. 

After Taehyung gave all of his papers to the offices that required them, he walked out into the school hallway only to be eaten up by a wave of students moving towards somewhere. At some point in the commotion, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him somewhere. Suddenly he was walking more stably. ”Found you!” the voice of Seo Joon shouted loud enough for him to hear. 

As they continued walking, Seo Joon let go of Taehyung’s hand but Taehyung was still able to catch up to him. ”Seo Joon, where are we going?” Taehyung asked, hopefully loud enough for Seo Joon to hear. ”The assembly hall. It's Monday in case you haven't realised.” Taehyung quirked a brow. ”I’m homeschooled, you know?” easy truth, he was homeschooled and he read in Hwang Taeyeon’s information that he was homeschooled too. 

Seo Joon pinched the bridge of his nose, then muttered something like, ”Right, of course, you were, ” eventually the crowd started slowing down and they were led to a set of double doors. There seemed to be an elderly lady standing next to it holding a clipboard. As Taehyung and Seo Joon were about to walk through the double-doors, the lady eyed Taehyung then Seo Joon before stopping them both with a hand. 

”Seo Joon, you better show the new student where to sit.” was all the lady said before she let them pass. Seo Joon nodded at the lady with a smile before looping his arm around Taehyung’s again to lead past the double-doors.

The doors led to a huge hall with seats that lined the walls. Actually, they were more like lines of seats that were stacked up and behind another line of seats. But the hall was filled with chairs facing a stage at one end of the hall. As Seo Joon brought him to wherever they needed to sit, Taehyung tried yet again to pick apart the voices of all the students in their seats.

Yet again, all he found were the sounds of euphoria.


	6. The Stage is Ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaay more Yoongi POV's!!  
> (also Yoongi low-key gay panics over Taehyung.)  
> Also I make up a name for Yoongi’s dad in this chapter

Yoongi sat in the third row from the stage as he patiently waited for the assembly to start. It seems no one recognizes the face of Min Yoongi, son of Min Yoon Ho, the governor of North City. 

The thought made Yoongi smile a little. These fools had no idea who was sitting next to them. 

.......................

“So wait a minute, you live in the red zone-“ Seo-Joon uttered. Taehyung nodded. “-and your house is the closest house to the Seam?” Taehyung nodded again. Seo-Joon just looked like he was in pure disbelief and Taehyung just gave an awkward smile not knowing how else to react. “Yeah... that’s kind of why my mom homeschooled me.” Taehyung said softly, hoping it wouldn’t make Seo-Joon suspicious. 

Seo-Joon wiped a hand over his face, which also seemed to wipe away his face of disbelief. “It’s alright, I understand. And your mother must want you to be here to get a chance to live out of the red zone one day huh?” He asked, a look of pity washing over his face. 

Taehyung just nodded. North City was split into three areas, the Red Zone, the Yellow Zone, and the Green Zone. The Red was where the less earning lived, and where the monsters roam most. They still get protection from Min Yoon Ho but monster attacks were more likely, and because they live near the Seam they could always join South City once the fees of living in North City got too high. Sometimes, when people from the Red Zone join South City they’ll still get to live in their residence in North City as spies. It was a violation of the truce between Min Yoon Ho and Kim Namjoon, but North City was the one who violated it first. 

Seo-Joon must have thought that Taehyung lived in a little house that was placed so close to the Seam, when really it was the residence of Hwang Jung Ahn, a council member of the KTF. But in this case, he’ll have to pretend that Jung-Ahn was his mother. Not that they’d she’d even need to come here.

Suddenly the hall went silent as a man stepped onto the stage. He looked very formal so Taehyung assumed this must have been the principal. 

The man walked up to a podium in the middle of the stage and tapped on a microphone. 

At first, all that came out was feedback, but the principal cleared his throat before he began to speak. ”Good morning everyone, welcome back to Wolfsbane Academy! I’m sure you all felt that our small school break needed to be longer, but I suppose it's not my fault the workers finished the renovations faster.” a few students laughed, but Taehyung got the impression that not many people were happy that they didn't get another week of holiday. He turned to Seo-Joon and whispered, ”The school was under renovation?” he asked. Seo-Joon nodded, ”Yeah, we didn't know why but I think he’s gonna explain.” he replied.

Sure enough, the principal explained the purpose of the renovations. Turns out they wanted to add more special rooms to the school since there were more clubs that had been requested to be formed. Taehyung didn't care much until the principal mentioned the school now had private practice rooms that were soundproof. His mind suddenly swam with thoughts of being able to practice alone with no one getting hurt or risking his cover blowing. It just- sounded like heaven to him. Until the principal mentioned they needed a student card to gain access to the practice rooms. Student cards meant IDs, and IDs meant pictures, and pictures are bad. 

He’ll figure it out, surely. 

Then the principal started rambling about things that students did before the school break which made Taehyung wish his hearing wasn’t sensitive because by god this man was loud. After a few minutes or so, the principal cleared his throat again and Taehyung got a bad feeling. ”Ah, there is one more thing. We have a few new students joining us today. Thankfully they aren't freshmen so I’m sure it’ll be alright for me to call out their names. And when I call out their names I expect them to stand, understood?” the man said as he pulled out a card. 

Taehyung began to panic inside his mind. Did he need to stand up and show his face to people? What if he did something wrong and ended up blowing his cover? What if Min Yoongi spots him and marks him as a target? What if they sense the presence of a Sunai? 

Shut up- he told himself. Panicking is normal- humans panic- they’ll assume you're just a shy kid. That's who you are. He added. The principal mumbled something that even Taehyung couldn’t hear before speaking up, “We’ll have three students joining us for the rest of the year, all three are in year two, year three and year four each. In year two, we have a student who came from a sub-city. Therefore he is new to V-city, I expect all of you to treat him well and to help him with anything he doesn’t understand. Hitoshi Hidaka, please stand up.” 

Taehyung turned to where everyone else was looking and found a guy who looked too old to be 16 with what Taehyung could only describe as a mop of hair. Somehow he felt that the student looked eerier than a Malchai in a way. 

“Alright, alright moving on. In the third year, we have a student who was homeschooled before this so please help him make friends. Hwang Taeyeon, please stand up.” Taehyung blew a sigh of relief when the principal didn’t mention his name until he looked at Seo-Joon and remembered he was Hwang Taeyeon. In a bit of a clutz, he stood up keeping his breathing level as he let a small friendly smile spread across his face. 

..................

Yoongi turned behind him to look at the third-year kid. He was sitting in maybe the sixth or seventh row so he couldn't see this Hwang Taeyeon guy very well. But this guy reminded Yoongi of a lost puppy. He stood tall- or at least tall compared to Yoongi’s stature- but he still reminded Yoongi of a lost puppy. Maybe it was due to the fact he looked... Thin. Ever so slightly starved, the poor guy looked a little malnourished which probably meant he lived in the Red. It made sense why he was homeschooled. Although, something stood out about him. He had a small bit of elegance in the way he stood, and the way he gave a small smile was so obvious that even a blind person could tell was kind. After a small second Yoongi set in his mind to not pick on him. 

”Min Yoongi for the last time please stand.”

Yoongi’s head turned a bit too quickly towards the stage. Crap. The Taeyeon guy had distracted him so much to the point he didn't hear the principal. Although Yoongi supposed it was his fault for turning is bad ear towards the principal. 

As Yoongi stood, he didn't let himself look ashamed, or even slightly apologetic for ignoring the principal. In fact, as he heard shocked gasps and indecipherable whispers, he let himself put a smug smile on as he started at the principal on stage. ”Min Yoongi. We understand that your father is trusting us as the last hope in teaching you a bit of discipline. We expect you to do well.” 

Yoongi cocked his head to the side, feigning boredom as he spoke aloud, ”Please, I’ve been told that enough times already. ” he stared at his metallic painted nails before continuing, ”But since you asked so nicely, I’ll try.” he looked back up at the principal, the smile never faltering on his face. He found himself quite pleased the principal looks slightly agitated. 

The principal sighed and pinched the bridge of his before letting the new students sit. The last few minutes were just saying a few more things about programmes running this week and other unimportant things in Yoongi’s eyes. 

Once the assembly was finished and students were allowed to leave, Yoongi was pleased to find the crowd parted for him as they left the hall.

His plan has begun.


	7. No One Needs To Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you’re wondering- yes. This chapter is nothing but poorly-written world-building.
> 
> Also, HAHA TAEGI AIN’T MEETING YET BECAUSE IF I DIDN'T HAVE SELF CONTROL THIS CHAPTER WOULD BE TOO LONG

Yoongi tapped his pen as Mr. Han, his new history teacher, rambled on about what the world looked like before the Reconstruction. 

The stretch of land they lived on was once a country called Korea. This ”Korea” was once split into 8 provinces and 8 cities. Apparently, there was also a small Island towards the South that was part of it as well. Now, since the Reconstruction, nothing much has changed. Except now there were eight territories, not _provinces,_ not _cities, territories._

The Reconstruction happened after the Phenomenon, or in other words: when god decided to release monsters into the world for every act of violence. Then the Phenomenon caused the Fall, in which this once-prosperous country fell into chaos and war. But man will always find a way to recover. So they did, and the Reconstruction happened. The groups of people that had banded together and gained territory during the Fall got to keep that territory and claim it as theirs as long as the appoint a governor, a leader. 

But Verity was different. They weren’t able to decide between Min Yoon Ho, who offered peace as long as they paid him; and Kim Namjoon, who wanted everyone to fight for their protection. In Namjoon’s eyes, this war between man and monster will never be over. 

What happened after that was a bit of a mess, but not that many people in Verity knew of it. Even as Mr. Han was explaining it, he didn't get his facts right. 

Everyone painted Min Yoon Ho as a savior, albeit a terrifying one. They were scared of him but he was their only source of protection. In reality, Min Yoon Ho was no savior, he just wanted money fast and quick. 

So for the smallest time, Verity lived with no true governor. In the history books, they didn’t have anything that contained a lick of information about what happened during that period. Yoongi did, he still remembered it. Remembered how when he was six years old he was told by his mother to pack up. He remembered how his father told them to leave Verity. 

Min Yoon Ho started a war. A war that lasted longer than it should have. No one knows that his father had started it, they assumed Kim Namjoon had released his lab of monsters into Verity. 

_Fools,_ they were. Utter _fools._

The one with monsters shackled at their feet wasn’t the governor of South City, it was their own. But they didn't need to know that. They paid for their protection after all. They didn’t need to know it wasn’t his father who wanted the truce, why would he anyway? No one remembers that Min Yoon Ho was a gang leader before the Fall.

”Min Yoongi, name the province and cities that Verity is a part of.” Mr. Han suddenly called out. 

Yoongi didn't look at the teacher, nor did he stand up but he answered anyway. ”Verity has taken up the Gyeongsanbuk province along with the metropolitan city of Daegu and Ulsan.” he replied. His voice sounded bored, lazy, unintrigued. It was no use teaching the son of the governor about their own city. He already knew everything about it. Inside his head he deemed Verity much like an apple: it could have a nice waxy surface but it had the most rotten core. And slowly but surely, it was eating away at the rest of the apple. 

Mr. Han seemed pleased enough with that and the lesson stayed like that for the rest of the class.

Out of boredom, Yoongi started to hum a familiar tune. He smiled to himself when he realized he was humming the song of monsters. 

_Monsters, monsters,  
Big and small.  
They’re gonna come  
And eat you all._

__

_Corsai, Corsai,  
Tooth and claw.  
Shadow and bone  
will eat you raw._   
  
_Malchai, Malchai,  
Sharp and sly.  
Smile and bite  
And drink you dry_

......................

_Sunai, Sunai,  
Eyes like coal.  
Sing you a song  
And steal your soul._

“Taeyeon, are you gonna eat that?” Said Seo Joon, his words barely audible with a mouth full of food. Taehyung snapped his head up, an embarrassed smile appearing after realizing Seo-Joon likely noticed he was just staring at his lunch bag. 

Taehyung shook his head, pushing the song away from his mind. “No, do you want it?” He asked, pushing the paper bag towards Seo-Joon. The action made the male raise a brow, “Yeah, I want it but... You look like you haven’t eaten for a month, Taeyeon.” Taehyung shook his head again, “No, it’s ok,” he takes out the apple from the bottom of the paper bag and forces himself to take a bite of it. “I’ll just eat this.” He fought the urge to cringe at the taste of ash in his mouth, he’d have to swallow it to shake off Seo-Joon’s worries. 

However, Seo-Joon was quiet and seemed to have been shocked by something. Only then did Taehyung realize two things: (1) the fake medallion of a North City citizen was in his pocket- he wasn't wearing it (2) his sleeves jumped up when he grabbed the apple. 

”Woah- Taeyeon, you got tatts?” Seo-Joon whispered. Taehyung pulled his sleeves down and convinced himself to swallow the bit of apple in his mouth. ”Don’t tell anyone.” Taehyung shout-whispered. Seo-Joon’s face turned a little smug. ”Alright, sure. I hope those are temporary though, cause once I wore a temporary tattoo to school and Mrs. Ryo forced me to rub it off. Hurt a bunch.” Seo-Joon warned. Taehyung made a face he hoped was a wince and whispered mouthed, ”They’re not.” 

Taehyung expected to be scolded by Seo-Joon then and there but instead, Seo-Joon gave him a mischievous smile. ”Daredevil. I like it.” he then proceeded to take Taehyung’s lunch bag and take a bite out of the sandwich inside. Taehyung quickly took out the medallion in his pocket and quickly slipped it around his neck.

When Taehyung looked up, Seo-Joon didn't seem to notice. ”Anyway, Taeyeon. You live near the Seam right? Have you ever seen a monster?” Taehyung felt his eyes widen at the question, he hoped a look of surprise was the correct reaction. ”I know I have.” Seo-Joon said as he finished up Taehyung’s sandwich. ”Really? What was it?” Taehyung asked, forcing another bite of the apple to enter his mouth. Seo-Joon cocked his head a little at that, ”Huh, that's the first time someone reacted that way, ” his eyes narrowed and Taehyung almost choked on his apple. ”But anyway, I wasn't sure what it was. Probably a Corsai since I was dumb enough to try and sneak out past curfew.” Taehyung rolled the apple in his hand and asked, ”So what did you do when you saw it?” Seo-Joon chuckled and exclaimed, ”Ran like hell of course!” Taehyung gave a laugh of his own, it- it felt good somehow. Taehyung decided maybe he should laugh more often. 

After a few minutes, two students who introduced themselves as Park Hyung-Sik and Choi Min-Ho sat down with them. Turns out they were Seo-Joon’s neighbors and they ended up voluntarily giving more information on the night Seo-Joon encountered a Corsai. 

”I still don't think he saw one, he’s always so full of himself.” Hyung-Sik said with a smile, he bumped Seo-Joon with a shoulder which only made Seo-Joon return it and cause Hyung-Sik to fall off the cafeteria bench. Hyung-Sik ended up falling on his ass which resulted in a burst of laughter from the four of them. 

But between the laughter and the bites of his apple, Taehyung’s hunger caught up to him. It started off as nothing, or almost nothing- something similar to those moments before a cold starts. That split second of dizziness that warns you of something wrong- of possibly being sick. Then when Taehyung dwelled on it, it felt like a tickle- then he felt his throat get scratchy- and he wondered if he’d been sniffling for a while. Somehow his thoughts only made the obvious symptoms get worse faster- but he stayed calm. He couldn’t get hungry now, he’d been holding off from feeding for a week- maybe more. No, he wouldn’t let himself get hungry now. 

He took a deep breath as the three students near him kept chatting. Mind over body, Taehyung. Mind over body. Which Taehyung forgot would only work until the hunger found itself into his brain and he would- He snapped his thoughts back into place and told himself to breathe, to course air through his nose and into his lungs. 

“Taeyeon, you ok there?” A voice asked. Taehyung didn’t realise his eyes were closed until he opened them and his hands were gripping the table with such force that there were scratch marks. He looked up and found the three students looking at him, “You look a little sick there buddy.” Hyung-Sik spoke out. 

Taehyung shot to his feet, almost tripping as he got up from the bench. “Yeah- I-I’m just gonna grab some fresh air.” 

He found himself dropping the apple he was holding and rushed towards the hall in search for a door- he didn’t care which door as long as it lead _out._


	8. Hello, Hello. We're not Where We’re Meant to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a mess but I wrote it when my conscience was clear and I’m not sure when it will be clear again so just take this ok I’m so sorry

Yoongi let his mind wander as he breathed the smoke of his cigarette into his lungs.

He found it a little funny, smoking. In a world where monsters can kill you in a heartbeat people still choose to smoke and risk dying a slow, much more painful death. He allowed himself to smile as the burning yet satisfying smoke left his lungs.

His mind drifted to the boy he met in the washroom. Earlier in the day, Yoongi overheard a boy gossiping about him- how odd, the fact that boys still gossip and spread rumors much like girls. _Equality goes a long way, I guess_ , he thinks to himself. Then at some point during English, Yoongi asked to leave to the bathroom to skip it until recess.

It was just his luck he found the boy fixing his hair in front of a mirror.

At first, Yoongi didn't think much of it, until Yoongi realized who it was and the boy looked at him through the mirror looking like he was in fear.

Fear is a weapon, but for Yoongi it was a merely a tool to assert dominance.

So when the boy started to look like he was ready to fight, Yoongi stepped up to the mirror next to the male and started fixing his own hair. "You know, I think we could have been friends," Yoongi said flatly as he carded a hand through his blond hair. The boy snickered "Who'd want to be friends with you, _murderer_."

Yoongi would have flinched at the word as it wasn't true- he was too scared to kill, too scared of putting another monster into the world. But he smiled. He smiled and let this ignorant boy think what he wanted to think. He angled his head to look at the boy, and his hand slipped into his pocket to clasp his silver lighter.

"Hmm... got any other nicknames for me?" He asked in a mockingly sweet tone, flashing an anticipatory smile.

The boy turned his body towards Yoongi and- "Fuckboy, psychopath, crazy, mon-" before the boy could spit out that last nickname Yoongi had a hand around his throat and the boy's back against a wall.

Yoongi was considered of average height but growing up, people usually were taller than him anyway. This guy was... what, four maybe five centimeters taller? Didn't stop Yoongi from lifting him up against the wall anyway.

He took out his other hand out from his pocket, and with a click of a button, his lighter turned into a knife. He held the pure silver blade against the boy's cheek, pressing lightly 'till blood slowly welled on the student's skin and down his knife. "You... fucking... bitch..." the boy sputtered.

What happened next? All that Yoongi could say was they had a nice chat and the boy, Seol Youngsoo, is now blessed with the knowledge of what Min Yoongi would do to him if he or his friends kept spreading rumors.

Another smile spread on his face as he took one last drag from his cigarette-

The sound of a bang behind him almost made him inhale smoke too fast.

.....................

Taehyung rammed through the set of double doors to the point he thinks he'd set the doors off a hinge or two.

His knees betrayed him as he stumbled out of the door, his body felt like it was on the verge of burning- he was shaking and the world felt like it was spinning on a top.

_Breathe. Breathe. Breathe._

"Hey, you ok there?" a voice asked behind Taehyung. He found himself whipping his head around towards the voice. He didn't realize his hand was covering his mouth until he had to pull it away.

.....................

_Crap- this dude had pretty hands._

He mentally slapped himself at the thought- Yeah, Yoongi was gay. He didn't like mentioning that. _Yoongi, this dude could be dying!_ A voice in his head- his voice- said. _Or he's a wimp and is having a panic attack._ His voice said back in his head.

The smokey grey orbs of Taeyeon-one of the new kids that joined today- scanned Yoongi, but not in a way of fear, this guy looked like he was squaring up foe. _Interesting_...

The boy laughed, a sickening sideways smile appearing to make his puppy-like features resemble more of a wolf. Taeyeon hung his head and replied, "That's a little odd coming from the son of Min Yoon Ho, but I'm fine, thank you." _What the FUCK?- WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS KID'S VOICE?-_ Another mental slap-

Taeyeon proceeded to wipe his face with his sleeve and tried to get up, which only resulted in him collapsing on his knees again. Yoongi felt a bit pitiful and flicked the cigarette away before offering a hand to the younger male, which only made the boy look at the hand a little warily.

"What- is it wrong for me to offer a hand to someone that's clearly in pain?" Yoongi questioned. With one last look of suspicion, Taeyeon took Yoongi's hand, and once the boy stood, Yoongi wasn't surprised the other male was a smidge taller than him- though just by taking a glance Yoongi could tell this kid hasn't grown into his full stature yet- which just gave Yoongi more reason to think of him as a puppy.

"You smoke, Hyung?" The boy suddenly asked, as if he wasn't on the verge of wretching a moment ago. Yoongi raised a brow, "Oh, one of those kids that are gonna tell me off, are you?" Yoongi teased. "No, just asking why you're preferring to slowly kill yourself with toxic smoke."

Yoongi let go of Taeyeon's hand and asked, "So... what was your name again?" He played dumb, he didn't want to hear a 17-year-old boy lecture him. Besides, a small part of him just wanted to hear the boy say it- gosh, Yoongi's glad no one realized that he's gay.

"Taeyeon, Hwang Taeyeon. You're sure you didn't hear my name during the assembly this morning?" Yoongi shrugged, "I'm half deaf." He tapped his right ear- it was a little disorienting. The way you can feel something but not hear it.

_Wait a minute- why was he acting like this? Why was his mask dropping? Was he flirting a moment ago? What the hell is happening? Why isn't he filtering his thoughts?_

.......................

Taehyung tried not to show shock on his face as the older male spluttered out that fact.

_Uh-oh- he needed to get out of here. N.O.W._

Then whatever God existed decided to have mercy and ring the class bell.

Taehyung smiled- a little awkwardly he guessed, and started to back away. "Well uh- it was nice meeting you Hyung." he muttered as he burst into a sprint back into the school building- oh, he did break the door from one of the hinges- oops.


	9. Uh Oh, There it Goes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh so this may be the last chapter I’ll update in a while since I’m actually in a boarding school so- enjoy this pretty bad Jungkook POV followed by Taehyung getting ”hungry” again

“Jin, for the last time. This is unnecessary.” Jungkook said as he took off his KTF issued coat, the black crosses on his arms almost hummed as the material was shrugged off his shoulders. His dark eyes turned to meet Jimin’s blue ones from across the room. “Aww, Jungkookie... We gotta congratulate Tae...” Jimin replied, clearly oblivious as to what their celebration was. At least Jimin looked well enough to join them, Jungkook thought to himself.

“Jungkook, come on... you’re brother needs the encouragement you know?” Jin offered, his fingers busy with preparing food.“Please, how is this going to encourage him?” Jungkook spat under his breath. He had pleaded to not have this celebratory dinner- or at least, to not partake in it- but Seokjin insisted. And if Seokjin insisted, well even he didn’t have the balls to fight him. So as Jungkook strode over to the table, he could feel his body begging to pull away as if knowing that this was wrong, that he shouldn't be here and instead should be somewhere in North City cleansing it from another sinner.

”Jungkook, we all know your brother’s a little different.” Jin said, an upset tone washing over his voice. Jungkook took a seat next to Jimin and tisked. ”If anything, Jimin is different.” he muttered. The remark only made Jimin pout and pinch Jungkook’s cheek. Jimin was always childish, it was the result of his Catalyst: of his creation.

Years ago, when only Jimin and himself lived here, Namjoon had given Jungkook access to all the files in the KTF archive. So when he had found the time, he spent a whole night reading every single piece of data the KTF has collected. During his reading, he found two files labeled JM and JK. Inside were reports, photos, and videos containing everything the KTF knew about him and Jimin... Along with theories about Sunai.

That night, he found out a lot of things.

Some were disappointing, like the fact Jimin was older than him by two years and he somehow didn’t notice- or didn’t remember his Catalyst- but some intrigued him: like that the term used for a monster’s creation was a Catalyst. This probably meant the people who discovered monsters were born from crimes didn't like saying they were born from crimes. How funny humans are, not wanting to call things as they are.

But what really caught his interest was a lab report he found theorizing that Sunai’s personalities were determined by the nature of their Catalyst.

Which meant Taehyung was curious and human because his Catalyst was a school shooting involving 9 children between the age of 12 to 14. Jimin... Jimin’s was hard for even him, a supposedly cold-hearted Sunai, to read. Jimin’s report stated that a stupid man in his thirties threatened to bomb a kindergarten- or was it a daycare? Regardless, the senseless sentient being pulled through with their threat and about 40 toddlers were reduced to ash. Which was why the reason Jimin was always so lost and confused and... barely there. In a way, Taehyung was different from Jimin and Jungkook because his Catalyst was a school shooting.

But Jungkook was different too. The age range of the people involved in his Catalyst were all intelligent and tricky adults. His Catalyst was a terrorist bombing on a weapons maker for... Well, that part was redacted. When Jungkook first read the document he was confused about why that document was the only redacted document in the archives. He had asked Namjoon but all be got from his father figure was a shrug and an excuse of only council members know.

When Jungkook retorted, Namjoon had locked up a few documents that Jungkook could no longer read. Luckily, the locked documents had already been read by him. However, the only conclusion he’s been able to make from that night was that why the marks on every Sunai were different. They knew why the marks were there, to remind Sunai of the days since their last Fall; but was there a reason that Taehyung’s were tally marks? Or that his own we're black crosses? Why were Jimin’s stars?

Well, maybe Jimin’s were stars since his Catalyst involved a lot of children, he thought to himself.

His train of thought stopped moving when he heard Namjoon cough even before the elevator reached the living room- Jimin probably did too, in the way his brother’s eyes widened at the sound of the horrible cough Namjoon was attempting to stifle before the metal doors of the elevator slid open.

As Namjoon stepped out, he only looked at Jungkook and Jimin only to press a finger against his lip and point to Jin, who was busy chopping and cooking. Namjoon wanted silence about the coughs? But they were just coughs, what else could there be?

Then he noticed the bloody handkerchief in his hand.

With a wince, Jungkook turned his head back to the dinner table. Jimin however just shrugged, he must have not noticed the bloody handkerchief. He heard Namjoon walk away to his room before coming out once more and handing a piece of paper in his hand. It was a letter from Namjoon’s personal doctor: Jung Hoseok. ”Read it before you go hunting again tonight.” Namjoon whispered before taking a seat at the table.

...........................

As soon as Taehyung had stepped into his room, he didn’t even bother to turn the lights on before peeling off the school uniform and stepping into the shower.

When he turned the shower on, the water came on cold and he gasped, but he didn’t turn it up. That was a few minutes ago and now he’s curled up against the tile wall, his knees against his chest as he let the borderline freezing water wash over him. Wait, had it really been a few minutes? How long had he been here? He held his head up for a moment more, letting the water run through his hair and down to his neck before turning the water off and stepping out.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, he turned on the lights and looked at himself in the mirror. With a wince, he realized he looked slightly ill, but upon smoothing his hair out he decided perhaps no one will realize he’s unwell. Or at the very least he had to hope no one will put a hand on his slowly warming up skin, especially not Jungkook.

After slipping on a loose plaid T-shirt, Taehyung strode out of his room expecting no one to be there but instead was greeted with Seokjin cooking dinner all the while Jimin, Namjoon and to his pleasant surprise, Jungkook sat patiently around the dinner table.

The sight made him smile a little, ”Ok first off- Three of us don't even eat, so why are you making dinner. Second, Seokjin, how did you force Jungkook to do this?” he found himself laughing a little- and it still felt as nice as it did a few hours ago. Yup, definitely gonna do that more, he noted to himself.

Seokjin, who was flashing the proudest smile while setting the table responded, ”Oh it wasn't that hard, just took threatening him from not being able to hunt on his own for a week. That's all.” Jungkook actually growled at that which earned a smack on the head from Jin as he approached the table with what he thinks was some sort of Salmon dish.

”You do not growl at me, young man.” Jin deadpanned as he turned to take a seat next to Namjoon. ”Oh and we’re doing this to celebrate your first day at school of course!” Seokjin finally answered. A part of him wanted to scream at Jin for doing such an unnecessary thing but- with a glance from Namjoon, he realized he should just entertain his uncle. After all, he’s probably never going to be able to do this again since he’s never had children of his own- even if Namjoon was more of a father to the three of the Sunai in the room.

Later, as Jungkook, Jimin and himself sat at the table with their plates garnished by a single tissue, they watched Namjoon and Jin eat. And as the night went on with the conversations and the jokes, he reminded himself this was his family. Whether he liked it or not, these were the four people in his life that cared for him-albeit one of them only cared for him because they think he was better off hunting more often- but as he dwelled on it, he realized that was what made them family too.

If only his hunger didn't catch up again.


	10. I’m not A Little Kid now, Watch Me Get Big Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me but this chapter is pretty messy- anyways is Elias going to be an important character? I’m not telling

It was night in Verity and Yoongi sat alone in the kitchen of the Min Penthouse, the faint sounds of rap music playing from a speaker as he ran a finger over the silver North City pendant he wore; the pure metal chain it was attached to kissing his neck as his thoughts roamed. 

The pendant he held in his palm was different than the other pendants Min Yoon Ho manufactures for the citizens of North City. After all, the pendant only served two purposes. One, to prove you belonged in North City. Two, as a sign that you were under Min Yoon Ho's protection. Each pendant -except his own and Yoongi's- had a serial number to track down citizens and -more importantly- make sure they weren't behind their fees to stay on this side of Verity. However, he and Yoongi wore silver versions of the pendants as a sign of superiority.

His mind jumped to a different thought, he started formulating his next steps of- well, domination. Of what? The school, of course. But really it was but a small piece of Yoongi's plan of dominating Verity. However, he's still eighteen. Dominating a school seems like a fair ambition for now. 

Yoongi's mind jumps again, and a boy with a lost-puppy look flashes in his head and a shiver wracks through him. Throughout the evening, his mind had been haunted by thoughts of the grey-eyed boy who looked starved and sick yet talked as if everything was normal- well, as normal as it could be when you're acknowledging the existence of monsters in your city. He didn't like thinking about him, about Taeyeon; but he looked quite intriguing. However, a part of him prayed to whatever god existed up there to not let them encounter each other again, because if not Yoongi might just have to tie that boy up and throw him into the depths of the ocean to escape thoughts of him. 

The pendant slipped between his fingers as his hand made a cracking sound against his cheek. No violence, Yoongi. You can prove to him that dominance doesn't require violence. A voice- his voice warned. He rubbed his cheek where his hand had slapped it, a hiss slipping through his teeth as he did so. Let's do something else, ok Yoongi? 

So he did. He picked up his phone from the kitchen counter and minutes later, he found himself reading. About what? How to care for cats, duh.

Hah, you wish. His eyes scanned the screen as the article loaded. Apparently, Corsai attacks had been running rampant ever since he'd last been in Verity. He finished reading the article, realized there was no footage in the article and found himself typing in a password and gaining access to Min Yoon Ho's archives. 

The archives are well- pretty boring on the surface. Nothing but files arranged from A-Z of every North City citizen filling the screen. But that was only the first firewall, a distraction from the other things being kept in those archives. 

A few taps on his phone, and he's in the second firewall: every report on late fees, gang fights, small, irrelevant crimes. The third, reports of murders- all caused by humans, not monsters. The fourth was what Yoongi was digging for- what he needed right now. 

The fourth wall had every file that Min Yoon Ho needed to hide. The only people meant to get access to these files were... Well, only him. Not even his goons were allowed to look- though, he remembered one in particular who knew of what was being kept, but not the actual contents. He shivered again, the figure's face momentarily popping up in his mind. Focus, Yoongi. Find the footage. 

The things kept in the fourth wall of the archives were every record related to the monsters of Verity. Every report, every article, every observation, every photograph- everything. It was also the home of surveillance, footage of monster attacks that Min Yoon Ho doesn't want to be released to the public. 

The music died down, and someone breathed down Yoongi's neck. "Why hello, Yoonie. Why aren't you in bed?" a voice smooth as honey spoke. 

Yoongi through his nose and set the phone, screen down on the kitchen counter. "Hello, Elias." was all he replied as his hand moved under the kitchen counter to palm the gun hidden there. 

Elias chuckled behind him, cold breath tickling Yoongi's ear as he did so. "Yoonie... You do realize I've been here long enough to know where your father keeps his weapons." hands slid up his shoulders and down his right arm. At that point, Yoongi cursed himself for wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt as Elias' cold skin met his and wrapped his hand around Yoongi's wrist. 

Elias pulled Yoongi's wrist away from the gun, and Yoongi clicked his tongue. "That's fine and all, but how many times have I told you to not call me Yoonie." The male behind him pressed Yoongi's wrist against the counter and gave another breathy laugh before taking his hand away from Yoongi's body. "Oh, why not? I thought you liked being called that." Elias started making his way around the counter and stopped as soon as he was on the opposite side of Yoongi. 

Yoongi kept his head down, he didn't want to look at the male's face- didn't want to be reminded. But alas, Elias brought a finger against Yoongi's chin and forced him to look at him- to look at the Malchai that served his father. 

A Malchai was born from meaningless murders and meant to look like one of two things: a familiar-yet not version of the person that haunted the murderer's thoughts the most, or a distorted version of the murderer themself. In Elias' case, it was likely the first. 

Elias' skin was pale and seemed so stretched over his bones that it almost looked translucent in daylight. But now it was night, so the Malchai's black bones looked like they were trying to break free from his skin. His eyes were crimson, like the blood that stained the floor when Min Yoon Ho held "court" or like the roses that lined one of his previous schools, St. Agnes. The Malchai's hair was black, but it was matte and usually unkempt- but he must have been on babysitting duty since it now looked slicked and combed to reveal the Malchai's rugged features. Elias was his father's favorite hound, the one Min Yoon Ho would turn to when he needed business to be settled quickly and well- neatly, since Malchai only feasted on blood. 

The Malchai smirked, "Really missed having you around, Yoonie. But as much as I miss seeing your face, how about you go to your room and... Do whatever it is you eighteen-year-old humans do." Yoongi gave a laugh of his own, one he'd been practicing to intimidate someone. "You know I'm not like other teens." he forced himself to stare into the Malchai's blood-colored orbs as he pushed the monster's finger away from his chin. 

He then got up from the stool and pocketed his phone. "Which is why I'm going to go pay my father a visit." he began to walk out of the kitchen and towards the elevator when the Malchai's hand wrapped around his wrist again. "Your father is holding 'court' right now, are you sure you want to go see him, Yoonie?" Yoongi bit his lip, his mind racing with all he'd previously seen when his father was holding "court". He was about to back off when he second thought it and yanked his hand from he Malchai's grip. Yoongi turned his head towards Elias and put together a grim smile. "Even more of a reason I should see him. Thanks for telling me." 

No other words were spoken as Yoongi stepped into the elevator and plunged towards the basement.


	11. No-one Ever Listens; This Wallpaper Glistens with Blood.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter for now- if things feel cluttered they probably are I’m sorry 😔🤘

The celebratory dinner had ended, but now Taehyung only felt worse than he did after that cold shower. His hunger had started to catch up faster, which meant the first stage of his hunger was going to start soon if he didn't get out of here and eat. 

He forced himself to think, to distract himself. He tried to focus as Namjoon got up from his seat, saying something that was somehow unclear in his ears before retiring to his room. Made himself look at Seokjin and Jimin in the kitchen as they laughed and washed dishes. Although, he was definitely trying to ignore Jungkook who still sat next to him at the dinner table. 

Throughout dinner, Jungkook had been questioning him, a lot. Taehyung didn't think much of it since Jungkook probably just wanted as much information about North City as possible. 

But as dinner progressed, and Jungkook's constant inquiries started to get tuned out like a radio losing signal; Taehyung could feel his body heating up and his hearing be reduced to white noise and the beat of his own heart. Over time, he could only register Jungkook's mouth moving in question- his face going from that cold and calculating scowl to something resembling worry. 

He barely registered it when his body was being forced up and dragged into a room. 

—————————————

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jungkook muttered as he dragged his brother into his book-filled bedroom.

As soon as they got in, he pushed- well, more like threw Taehyung onto his book-ridden bed and closed the door behind them. He hastily made his way to his brother's bed and made Taehyung sit up. Another cursed slipped from his lips when he noticed Tae's blank stare and his way-too-warm skin. 

"TAEHYUNG!" he shouted, fists closing around the collar of Tae's shirt. 

Damnit, he should have known this would have happened. He knew something was wrong with Tae throughout the evening. Now Jungkook had 48 hours before his brother Falls, he needed to think fast. 

\--------------------------------

The white noise started to feel like it was spreading around Taehyung and into his eyes, blocking his vision. It- it was weird, usually this stage of his hunger would reach last, just before he'd Fall and consume every soul in the building. 

Then the white noise blocked his vision entirely, and Taehyung was expecting himself to black out but instead, the white vision cleared like smoke and he was staring into a bloody cafeteria floor. 

His body was hunched over it, crouched on the cold tiled floor. When Tae got up, people started. They all looked... Shocked, but not all were training their eyes on him. He followed their gaze and regarded the body of a young man who was missing the back of his head. He followed more gazes, and counted nine- maybe ten other bodies spread around him. It took him a few seconds to register that the beautiful crimson substance covering the floor was coming from all of them. 

A scream rang, and his eyes were covered as someone dragged him somewhere. When his eyes weren't covered anymore, a woman stared back at him with worried eyes. "What were you doing there?! How did you even get in the middle like that?" He tried to answer, but he realized he couldn't. He re-living a memory from 4 years ago, his Catalyst. A man approached them and closed a hand around the woman's shoulder before saying, "Leave him be, he's probably in shock." 

Then something hit him in the head, hard. 

His back hit a wall, and he hissed as his hands cradled his head. When he looked up from his hands, he realized what had hit him in the head was a guitar. Specifically, Jungkook's steel guitar. His brother's black orbs stared at him disapprovingly as he lowered his guitar as if he was about to hit him again if he didn't snap out of his flashback. Taehyung knew he was in trouble when Jungkook grabbed his wrist and yanked him up from the bed.

\----------------------------

As Jungkook led Taehyung through the dimly lit alleyway, guitar on the earlier's back and violin case in the latter's hand, Taehyung wondered about how much his brother's stride resembled a predator's prowl. It was probably the only reason Corsai wasn't patrolling the dark alleyway. Well, that and the fact Sunai blood was poison to Corsai.

They were in North City now, but Jungkook wore his FTF fatigues while Tae wore an FTF-issued cap and jacket over the clothes he'd worn throughout the evening. It was already past the North City curfew, which was why they hadn't bothered to wear disguises let alone the North City pendants. 

"How long, Taehyung?" Jungkook's question felt like an order, nearly every word he said sounded like one. This was proof of how strong his aura was because even Taehyung felt an unexplainable urge to answer the question. So he did, "Since my last fall? 341," he'd counted his tally marks earlier, "Since my last reaping? Maybe four or five. Hell, maybe a week." he muttered those last words out, but there was no point. Jungkook's hearing was superior to his own, which was why it's almost impossible to attack the God-like face of the FTF. Almost, proven by the thin scar on his otherwise perfect face. 

Tae suddenly realized the scar really was thin if he'd forgotten about it till now. Especially since Jungkook had stopped walking and now had his body turned to him, the only sign of anger on his brother's face were nothing but a mere crease of his brows. 

His brother took a long, deep breath and Taehyung had the urge to run. But he gripped his violin case harder and stared back into the voids of Jungkook's eyes. He tried his best to ignore how Jungkook's figure was taller and definitely more muscular made him look like the god the KTF presented him as and did all he could to look brave. 

But instead, his brother's eyes softened. Albeit- slightly. "Taehyung, I beg that you don't do this again." Jungkook stepped towards him, the sound if his boot bouncing off the walls. Taehyung was starting to feel scared, and it must have shown because Jungkook's gaze softened more. "You must think that I hate you, or despise you- hell, even disown you. But that's not it, Tae." Jungkook was standing mere inches from him now, and Tae was having a bit of a hard time looking into Jungkook's eyes from this proximity. 

"Taehyung, I actually care about y-" "the fact I'm an underutilized Sunai." Taehyung cut in, finishing Jungkook's sentence. "That's the only thing you care about right? You think I didn't hear you, huh? When you were convincing dad to let me out? You talked about me- about us as if we are saints. And I-" Taehyung paused, he wasn't making much sense. "I don't know what we are, but I know we aren't saints. Much less are you a god." 

When Tae finished his sentence, something momentarily flashed in Jungkook's eyes. Like a bolt of lightning briefly lighting up the dark and cold night sky. But before Taehyung could attempt to read what it meant, Jungkook turned on his heel. Walking faster and faster till he got out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk faster than Tae. When Jungkook was momentarily out of his sight, Tae realized just how tense he was earlier when his shoulders finally drooped. Another effect of Jungkook's strong aura. 

When he finally caught up to Jungkook, his brother was destroying a surveillance camera that was attached to the front of an apartment building. His brother didn't even look at him- he didn't need to- before stepping into the building.

\-------------------------

Taehyung and Jungkook stood in front of the door marked 119 and Taehyung could already feel the shadow of the sinner behind the door. He felt like he was quaking in his boots, so he pulled his violin case closer to his chest in an attempt to calm his nerves. 

"Tae, you know the drill," Jungkook said flatly. Taehyung started at his brother in near disbelief, he really was expecting him to do this alone. 

He stopped hugging his violin case, now holding it in his left hand. He took a deep inhale and knocked on the door. "Hello? Mr. Soloman, are you in there?" he tried to hear what was going on behind the door, but all he got was white noise. 

A second passed, then two, then three, and Taehyung was sure only ten seconds had passed when Jungkook raised his boot and kicked the door open. He must have kicked it hard, since the door actually broke off its hinges and ended up trapping their prey under it. 

The man yelped, and Taehyung spotted a gun in the man's hand so he moved quickly to kick it away. Their prey scrambled to get away from the door pinning him down but before he could, Jungkook dragged him up by the throat and threw him against the wall with a crack! 

When Jungkook released the man's throat, the man slumped onto his knees. The man was still breathing, but there was blood where his head had met the wall. 

"He's still breathing, so take the damn soul." Jungkook deadpanned. Tae glared at his brother in utter incredulity. "You didn't have to do that you know? It could have been a lot less messier!" Jungkook merely shrugged, "Since when were we Malchai?" his brother growled. 

"Besides, I had to do that since you couldn't hear anything inside. That's what was going on right? You were trying to hear behind the walls but you couldn't- you're hungry." Jungkook added in before moving to the entrance of the apartment, "I'll stand watch. You reap the soul." 

When Jungkook disappeared into the hallway momentarily, Taehyung crouched to set his violin case down and flip it open. The man started to mutter out confessions, he must have been overwhelmed by Jungkook's already powerful aura being amplified by his own. 

After taking out his violin and rubbing some rosin onto the bow, Taehyung stood. His violin coming up naturally to rest between his left shoulder and his jaw while the other hand held the bow against the strings. He told himself to close his eyes as his right hand drew out the first note from the violin. He never knew the name of the song, but it's always been engraved into his mind ever since he gained his weapon. And much like how a Sunai's instrument was part of them, the music felt like it was a Sunai's core. 

The music poured out into the room, it's somber, dark and eerie melody being carried into the air like smoke. The song was barely halfway when Taehyung felt the tug in his gut and forced himself to stop playing. He lifted the bow off the strings and inhaled before opening his eyes. He was met with the sight of the man on his knees, head hung as a ball of red light pulsed above the man's head. 

Taehyung sighed, and crouched closer to the man. "Tell me." he whispered. In a way, it was an order. Whenever a Sunai ordered you to do something, you do it. Which was why when Kim Jungkook of the KTF asked you a question, you answered. Sunai can't lie, and you likely won't lie to a Sunai either. Fair trade. However, only certain people were strong enough to resist a Sunai's orders. Though as of now those people were only Kim Namjoon and Kim Seokjin. 

Unfortunately, this man wasn't like Namjoon nor Seokjin. He was weak, like the others. 

The man smiled, though the red glow above him made it hard for Tae to see the man's eyes. "It was an accident at first, the guy wouldn't do as I said. So I shot him and ran. The second was still hard for me to do, but I didn't feel bad at all. The guy ended up beinh a traitor but- I felt like I had to stop there. Just stop pulling the trigger when I felt like it. Then the third came round and I realized murder was fun, easy, simple." the man paused as if to continue, but Tae didn't want to hear anymore. He honestly hated the confessions, but it was protocol for Taehyung and Jungkook to make them confess- in case they had any information about Min Yoon Ho's activities. But as the man was about to continue, Taehyung snuffed out the red light with a swipe of his hand. 

The soul entered his body and his body shook as his body's senses felt sharper- clearer. His eyes closing as a wave of relief rode through him. This was the only time Taehyung felt alive, human. But he was reminded that he won't feel it often when his eyes opened once more and he was met with the sight of the man's body slumped to the side, blood pooling around him and eyes nothing but voids. 

Taehyung tried not to gag at the sight- tried not to look at the blood or the voids in the man's eye-sockets: the sign of penance for one with their soul reaped. It always sounded kind of funny in Tae's head, how he was a monster that gagged and felt sick when he looked at gore. But that's the thing, Taehyung didn't want to be a monster.

"Don't tell me you're going to puke." Jungkook's voice deadpanned beside him. When Tae looked at his brother, his brother's arms were crossed as he leaned against the door that had somehow been fixed to the doorframe once more. "Just so you know, I fixed the door while you were wasting time with your song." The older male pushed himself off it and turned to open the door. He was about to step out when he turned to look at him and said, "Just so you know, I'm pretty sure there's something of interest in this apartment. You're the curious type so I'm sure you would want to go find that something. Luckily, that something isn't a person. So I'll let you investigate while I wait in the hall." 

Jungkook shut the door, leaving Taehyung with a man's body in an apartment that he finally got to inspect on his own. Usually, whenever he hunted with Jungkook his brother would force him to wait outside while he searched their prey's house for anything that could be reported back to Namjoon. So he was nothing but confused as he placed his violin back into its case and slung the case strap over his shoulder.

He walked pretty much aimlessly through the space. He walked into a hallway and spotted unfamiliar faces of North City citizens, toppling over boxes, seeing what was in those boxes and he decided perhaps Jungkook was just making fun of him, trying to humiliate him for his curiosity. 

He'd made his way back to the entrance and was about to open the door when the sound of a cat's mewl caught his attention. He turned his head towards the sound and sure enough, a green-eyed, black-and-white-furred feline stared back at him. It then turned its gaze towards the dead body and poked its head at the man's hand then pausing as if expecting a reaction. When the dead man did not move, the cat mewled once more, its emerald eyes once again trained on Taehyung.

A thousand thoughts flooded his head all at once, but he was sure of only one thing as he unzipped his jacket and scooped up the cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should the cat be named Tannie????


End file.
